Let's stick together: How couples can go the distance

Falling in love may be easy, but it can be difficult for scientist couples to land jobs in the same place. There are ways to boost your chances, though

AFTER geologist Julie Pett-Ridge began a tenure-track job at Oregon State University in Corvallis, her ecologist husband Dana Warren received an offer from Colby College in Maine. But Colby had nothing for Pett-Ridge. "I could get my dream job – if Julie quit science completely," says Warren.

The difficulties that face job-seeking couples in science are sometimes called the two-body problem. The term is borrowed from celestial mechanics: just as two stars may orbit each other on separate paths, two scientists can follow different career trajectories while in a relationship. Short-term positions and pressure to work at a variety of institutions can make it difficult for couples to stick together.

Though a challenge at all stages, the two-body problem can be especially hard on early-career PhDs, who often face major decisions about housing and children while trying to launch their science careers.

Scientists are more likely to fall for their colleagues than other academics are. According to Stanford University's Clayman Institute, almost two-thirds of partnered academics in science have a partner in the same general field – a phenomenon known as disciplinary endogamy. Just over a third of business academics, on the other hand, form relationships with others in their field. The all-consuming nature of scientific training and the fact that shop talk is easier with another scientist may explain why so many of them pair up.

The two-body problem also affects female scientists disproportionately: while just over half of male scientists are partnered with other scientists, 83 per cent of female scientists find themselves in a scientific couple. It can also be harder for women to navigate the problem. Women in academic partnerships report less job mobility than their male counterparts, and are much more likely to be a "trailing spouse" – the one who follows his or her partner.

The trailing spouse can be forced to narrow his or her job search to one region, move away for a job, or put science on hold. For those hired at his or her spouse's institution, things can be awkward. Thirty seven per cent of university faculty members think "second hires" are treated with less respect.

Given all this, it's not surprising that the way couples navigate the two-body problem can make or break careers and relationships. But there are ways to tip the scales in favour of a happy outcome.

Two heads are better than one

For a start, couples can jointly apply for posts at the same institution, where they may have more leverage than they think. A university stands to gain or lose two strong hires, so has an incentive to help. "The universities that solve the partner-hiring questions for outstanding candidates are going to have a competitive advantage," says Jean Morrison, provost of Boston University (BU).

While the percentage of such couples at colleges and universities hasn't changed since 1989, universities are hiring them at a greater rate. This is just as well, because the number of academic couples will only increase as women become more prominent in the sciences. The proportion of female engineering PhDs, for example, increased 100-fold between 1966 and 2006 – and many of them will continue to pair off with fellow scientists.

Many institutions have formal dual-career policies in place. These tend to offer job-search guidance for the partner of an employee without making any guarantees of employment. "If there simply is no niche for a partner or the fit is just not right, they can't do it, no matter what," says Morrison.

At some institutions, postdoc offices post job openings for postdoctoral scholars. Universities and colleges can upload their job openings to a regional Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, which has a searchable database.

At the same time, deans, provosts and chairs within an institution exchange information about candidates' spouses. In populous areas, administrators may reach out to other institutions, sending CVs to counterparts there.

Not all employees receive the same help, though. Whether formally or informally, universities tend to focus on helping the spouses of faculty members find jobs, says Kathleen Ehm, programme manager at the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA). Postdocs, on the other hand, remain part of the "invisible university". "We find that most institutions don't have these types of formal support structures available to their postdocs," she says.

This could soon change. The NPA is set to release recommendations aimed at reducing the obstacles for female postdocs, including the two-body problem. Many research institutions, faced with retiring scholars and increased competition for diverse and high-quality faculty, appear to be improving their support for academic couples.

Speaking up

Early in the job-seeking process, questions about disclosure loom large. The risk of appearing discriminatory generally stops employers from asking job seekers whether their spouse also needs a job, yet merely bringing it up could bias a hiring committee against a candidate. So when, if at all, should a postdoc or PhD candidate mention it?

"My advice would be probably to just go through the first round and see if they're interested in your application," says Rex Chisholm, vice dean for scientific affairs and graduate studies at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, who interviews and hires scientists there. "Once there's some interest, I think the sooner you engage the place you're going with the truth about the situation, the better it will go."

Morrison agrees that earlier is better. When a candidate discloses that he or she has a partner who is also looking for work, it allows the university to try to help its final-round candidates. But if a candidate doesn't speak up until after a job offer, she says, "the institution can in some cases wind up feeling like the person didn't negotiate entirely in good faith".

Strategic openness worked for Amy Karlsson and Christopher Jewell. Both PhDs in chemical engineering, they often applied for the same position without saying they were married to another applicant. After interview invitations arrived, each would disclose and then ask about jobs for the other. "We didn't want to get to the point where one of us would have an offer and it was too late for them to help with a position for the other person," Karlsson says. The couple was fortunate to land two tenure-track jobs at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Staying flexible

Flexibility is also key, across both disciplines and job types. While applying for jobs in their field, Karlsson and Jewell also tried out for roles in biomedical and bioengineering.

The tactic worked for Marshall Hayes and Magali Moreau, who began postdocs in Cornell in 2005, primarily following Moreau's scientific interests. After a three-year long-distance relationship, the couple was determined to stay together, so oceanographer Hayes switched fields and joined Cornell's plant pathology department. Hayes says he values the cross-training: "I'm a generalist by nature."

Hayes and Moreau were both promoted to research faculty a few years after their arrival, and Hayes says that, although they are not tenure-track faculty, they're very happy with their work-life balance. "We're not subject to the kinds of anxieties that the tenure track brings with it," he points out.

Such research faculty jobs, also called soft-money positions, can be easier to secure than a tenure-track position. The university can provide space and letterhead for a researcher to write grants to generate a salary.

"If I found a partner of an employee or candidate who's a really good scientist and clearly could support himself or herself on grants, that makes it a lot easier to develop a soft-money position," says Virginia Sapiro, dean of BU's College of Arts and Sciences.

It is also worth searching outside academia. Researchers in government or industry can do good science without teaching and committee work. And industry scientists can often re-enter academia later.

Location, location, location

Another way to boost the chances of finding jobs for two is by looking in the right location. Aquatic ecologist Kristen Arend was jobless when she followed her partner to the Great Lakes after he landed a job at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. But given her field, it wasn't an outlandish leap of faith to move to the home of the world's largest group of freshwater lakes. Arend was ultimately offered two positions: a post at LSSU and a US Geological Survey job 160 kilometres from the university.

For lab scientists, big cities offer a similar advantage. Candidates can blitz hospitals, startups and universities with applications.

Trying to make a relationship last while juggling such job applications is never an easy task, however, and each couple will find their own path through the maze. Warren, for his part, turned down Colby's offer in favour of his soft-money researcher position at Oregon State University. "Our average happiness is much higher in Corvallis," he says.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Let's stick together"

Making it work

Job-seeking can be difficult for a scientific couple. Follow these basic dos and don'ts when navigating the job market together.

DO

Ask around. Job openings can be discovered by word of mouth, especially soft-money and postdoc positions.

Negotiate on timing. An employed spouse can ask for a delayed start to allow their "trailing" partner to finish a degree or postdoc.

Prioritise. "If what you value is being able to live with your partner, that's a pretty good success too," says Virginia Sapiro, dean of Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences.

DON'T

Feel entitled to a job. Institutions don't owe employees' partners jobs, and being resentful can erode professional relationships

Rule out research faculty and non-academic jobs. Think outside the box!

Jenny Blair is a writer based in Texas.

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